Play airway for amusement purposes



Jfine 24,1930. y B. WILSON 1,767,496

PLAY AIRWAY FOR AMUSEMENT PURPOSES Filed July 12, 1928 is mounted onahigher stand 2 and a lower' Patented June 24, 1930 mew orrrcr,

BROADUS wrtson, or RALEIGH, noa'rn canotrna PLAY AIRWAY ron AMUsEM n'rrunrosns Application filed July 12,1928. Seria1 1 To. 292',317.

' My invention relates to a novel play airway for amusement purposes andthe object of the invention is to provide a plaything that will closelysimulate flying by aero- 5 plane, but which will be safe for children touse; and to provide an improved method of launching an aeroplane.-Otherobjects will be in part apparent from the annexed drawings, inpart pointed out in the following description in connection therewith.lVhile, as stated above, the primary object of this invention is toprovide a novel play thing the invention is adapted as well to largeraeroplanes, and is not restricted to r5 laythings.

In order that the invention maybe so fully disclosed, to those skilledin the art, that they may be enabled to embody the same in the variousforms and modifications to which it is subject, drawings exemplifying apreferred form have been appended as a part of this disclosure, and insuch drawing like characters of reference denote corresponding partsthroughout all the views,

25 of which Figure lis a perspective view of the complete airway.

Figure 2 i hanger, and the front part of the aeroplane,

30 part of the side ofwhich has been cutaway to show construction of thepropeller and motor simulator. 1

Figure 3 isa section of the side of the aeroplane taken near the rear toshow the shaft operation of the tail slide or brake.

Figure 4: shows the noisemaker or motor simulator and is taken on theline a. a. Figure 2.

Figure 5 shows the safety locking device for steeringand is a sectiontaken on the line b. b. Figure 2.

Coming to the detailed description of the figures, Figure 1 shows mypreferred form of the invention. A double runner track 1 stand 3 at itsends forming an incline runway. Mounted on the track 1 is a carriage 4,having wheels five which run-along the top of the track 1. At the upperextremity s: a s ectionof the track and.

of the track 1 is a locking device 6 hinged near the middle and formedso. that the forward orhooked end falls in the hole '2 on the carriage4: when the carriage reaches the top. of the track. ()n-the rear end ofthis locking device is a cord 8 whichihangs in reach of the occupant ofthe aeroplane, and which when pulled causes the lockto rise out of thehole 7, and thereby releases -v the carriage t. At the forward end ofthe carriage A is a horizontal crossbar 9 having 0 downwardly extendingsupport rods v10, 10 secured at either end. These rods have hooks 11, 11formed on their lower ends which releasably engage the 'U bolts 12, 12.Y which are secured in the forward section of the wing of the aeroplane.At the rear of the carriage 4 is another. crossmember 14. carryinganother downwardly extending support rod '15 having a' hook 16' at itslower end formed for engagement with an-- W other U bolt 12'.Mountedpivotally on the when the aeroplane is on the ground. In

this position the lock 40 clears the notch it so that the cross bar 18:maybe turned for steering. The weight of the wheels and 5,-

crossbar 18 causes this assembly to drop whenthe aeroplane is lifted sothat the notch 11 engages the lock 40. The angular formation of the lock40 forces the cross bar'18 'to come to a position at right angles 9e tothe center line of the aeroplane when the aeroplane is lifted and'alsoacts as a stop when steering on the ground. This makes the wheels hitthe ground in a straight line parallel to the line of the track andprevents a sudden turn which might upset the car.

Mounted on the front of the fuselage 17 is p the. propeller 23' on shaft24:, and inside the fuselage 17 on the same shaft a spool' 39is rigidlymounted, on this'spool is wound the 109 propeller string 25 which hasits free end passed thru hole 26 in the spool 39 and its other endpassed thru eyelet 30 on cross bar 9 and rigidly attached to the uppertrack stand 2 at point 27. On the rear end of shaft 24: is a notchedwheel 28, which when rotatedstrikes spring wire 29 causing a noisesimulating the running of a motor. It should be noted that the screweyelet 30 has the same rate of movement along the track as does theaeroplane so that the direction of pull on the string is the samethroughout its travel. In Figure 3 is shown the tail slide brake 31which is operated by connecting rod 32 and brake handle 33 in Figure 1,in which figure is also shown the passenger seat 34; and the rearsupporting wheel 35 and the ladder 36 and the bumper 37 which acts as astop for the carriage. This bumper might be made solid as shown orwith aspring.

In operation the U bolts 12 on the wings .13 and fuselage 17 are causedto engage their corresponding supporting hooks on the carriagesupporting rods, and the aeroplane and carriage pushed to the top of therunway until the lock 6 engages the hole 7. The rider then climbs theladder 36 and enters the seat 34. The free end of cord 25 is thenthreaded thru hole 26 in spool 39 and the propeller 23 is revolved untilthe string or cord 25 is wound tight on spool 39. The release cord 8 isthen pulled and the carriage 4 carrying the aeroplane rolls down thetrack 1 pulling cord 25 off spool 39 and causing propeller 23 andnoisemaker 28 to revolve rapidly. Near the lower end of the track 1 thewheels 19 and 35 of the aeroplane strike theground 38 and, as will bereadily appreciated by reference to Figure 2 which shows that the planeof the ground '38 and the track 1 get closer together, lift off thehooks 11 and 16 and the carriage 4 stops against the bumper 37 and theaeroplane taXies away on the ground 38 with propeller whirring and motorsimulator humming.

My invention is subject to many changes in actual construction withoutaffecting the scope and spirit of my invention so that I do not limitmyself to the exact form shown in the drawing, as for instance the trackmight have only a single runner or a wire cable might be used for atrack, and a, one or two wheeled carriage might be used, or the carriagemight have only one support in front as in the rear and these supportsmight be rigidly attached to the aeroplane, and constructed to leave thetrack at its lower end, or a boat might be substituted for an aeroplanewithout changing the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. n a device of the kinddescribed a gravity locking device adapted to align wheels and toprevent changing line of wheels while said device is suspended, andadapted to automatically release and permit steering within determinedlimits when the device is on the ground.

-2.In a device of the kind described a model aeroplane having supportingwheels adapted to be guided over a desired course, braking means forregulating travel of said aeroplane, and means adapted to automaticallyalign said wheels when said aeroplane is raised from the ground.

3. In a device of the kind described an inclined trackway terminating ata point above the ground, an aeroplane suspended from the under side ofsaid trackway for free movement therealong and adapted to release itselffrom said trackway when its wheels touch the ground.

4-. In a pleasure device the combination with an inclined trackwayterminating above a flat surface, of an aeroplane adapted to swing froma carrier on said trackway and to be detached therefrom upon contactwith said flat surface. a

5. In a device of the kind described a roller coaster mounted on aninclined trackway, said roller coaster having three suspending membersadapted to cooperate with corresponding attaching members on anaeroplane to securely support said aeroplane when its wheels are abovethe ground, and adapted to release said aeroplane when its weight issupported by its wheels.

6. In a device as described an inclined trackway, a roller carriersupported on said trackway for free movement therealong, threedownwardly extending suspending members on said carrier adapted tocooperate with the corresponding suspending members on an aeroplane, tosuspend said aeroplane for movement along said trackway, and adapted torelease said aeroplane when its wheels touch the ground.

7. In a device of the kind described an aeroplane suspended from aninclined trackway and adapted to be released therefrom upon contact witha substantially flat surface.

8. A trackway supported above a substantially plane surface, anaeroplane supported for free movement therealong and adapted to bereleased from said trackway by action of the wheels of said aeroplaneupon said plane surface.

9. In an aeroplane, means to automatically align the supporting wheelsof said aeroplane with the fuselage thereof when said wheels are liftedfrom the ground.

10. In an aeroplane, means to automatically align the supporting wheelsand axle thereof with the fuselage of said aeroplane when the weight ofsaid aeroplane is removed from said wheels.

11. In an aeroplane, means to automatically align the supporting axleand Wheels thereof when the Weightv of said aeroplane is removed fromsaid axle. and Wheels, said aligning means adapted to permit steering ofsaid aeroplane by means of its wheels while on the ground.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

BROADUS WILSON.

